ISLAMABAD: The fusion music concert at the residence of the Swiss ambassador on Friday night was like a celebration of a wealth of talent and skills of Swiss jazz and Pakistani classical musicians.

Ambassador Georg Steiner was delighted to host musicians from Switzerland performing in the fusion concert, bringing together cultures.

“It is a privilege and honour to host this sparkling event tonight. We hope we brought joy to both Pakistani and foreign expats invited here. How the sitar and tabla match so well with Swiss jazz is simply wonderful,” said Ambassador Steiner.

“What got the crowd moving was the unusual fusion mix making hearts melt. Imagine the saxophone, electric guitars and drums, melting in with the sitar and tabla. The sound of the sitar is trance,” said guitar player Loris Peloso. Loris Peloso studied music at Swiss Jazz School and Conservatory of Bern Pedagogic where he learned Jazz guitar, compositions and teaches at the Jazz School in Basel, Switzerland.

He has worked as a session musician for the Sting record People and has been the sideman for Mark Hauser on the saxophone in different projects.

This was the first time the two artists fused with Pakistani musicians and had only two hours of practice before Friday night’s live concert. “Fusion music is a universal language. We love to put different cultures together,” said Loris Peloso, who has collaborated with Brazilian, Russian, Mexican, Malaysian and Thai artists in the past.

In the next two weeks, visiting artists will be performing in five cities including Lahore and Peshawar. Some of the compositions the musicians performed included the cover of Fragile by pop artist Sting and George Gershwin’s Summer Time besides local tunes such as Chhap Tilak.

Tuning in to the here and now, and letting go of preconceived ideas was Markus Hauser who has been playing with Loris Peloso since the last 25 years.

The saxophone player embarked on his musical career at the age of 15 and completed his graduation from Berkley College of Music in Boston in 1993.

Shaped by jazz from the 1940s and 50s, one of his strong stylistic anchors was embedded in hard bop jazz. His own compositions and solos have gained stylistic expansion through his time spent studying and on concert tours in Europe and South America. Some of his other revered compositions include There’s a Way out, No Joke, NuTube and A Tribute to Art Pepper.

Blessed with the opportunity to play music professionally, taking advantage of it and having a good time was Wajih Nizami, Pakistani musician, composer and writer as well, who played the sitar.

His music reflected the eternal essence of sitar as he continues to uphold the tradition of sitar playing handed down to him through 18 generations of dedication and devotion to music.

Providing real fusion ingredients was Irfan Khan, one of the finest contemporary professional tabla players. He has been playing the instrument since the age of seven under the guidance of his father. He later took training from Ustaad Shamoon Sahib and Ustaad Mian Khaifa Irshad Sahib. Mr Khan has performed on national and international stages in United States, Singapore, Oman, and Russia to mesmerise audiences with his rhythmic patterns.

Drummer and percussionist Sumair Emmanuel began his musical journey in 2009 and started learning basics from music academies and various artists.

He started performing as a professional drummer in 2017 and across country along with various bands and artists and proved his virtuosity as a fine drummer.

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2023